


Crowned by the stars

by LittleSwallow (Hobbity)



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Erebor, FiKi Week, Ficlet, Fíli and Kíli Brotherly Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-18 14:00:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19335964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hobbity/pseuds/LittleSwallow
Summary: For prompt 1 of the FiKiWeek 2019: StarsThe night before Fíli is crowned as king, Kíli shows him how he sees his brother, the future king.Brotherly love - if it is more than that is up to your interpretation. As always, I tagged it as romantic because I have written the that way and don't want people stumble into my fics and then be retro-actively squicked.





	Crowned by the stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [islandkate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/islandkate/gifts).



> Gifted to Kate, the best cheerleader one can wish for.

It was the night before Fíli’s coronation as king of the Longbeards. Thorin had stepped down to put the burden of kingship on his nephew’s shoulders.

And Fíli could find no sleep in his big stately bed.

Thus he was still awake when the door adjoining his chamber opened in the middle of the night. And his brother stepped in from his own room, vaguely illuminated by the dying embers of the fire.

“Fíli.”

Fíli sat up straight. “Kíli? What’s wrong?”

Kíli stepped a little closer to the bed. “Nothing is wrong. Come with me.”

“But … tomorrow is an important day.”

“And are you sleeping?”

Fíli paused the objection on his lips. “No, I’m not.”

“Then come on.”

Kíli waited patiently while Fíli got dressed and then the two of the crept along the hallways to the royal stables. Where Dwalin was waiting with two saddled mountain rams.

He smiled and nodded in acknowledgment of the two princes, and walked away, no doubt getting a good nights rest before playing his role as royal guard.

Fíli did not bother to ask questions.

It was a clear, cold night outside, the stars sparkling in the sky. Kíli led the way up the mountain, past the Ravenhill. Their rams were bred to have the dwarves’ excellent nightvision and never faltered as they jumped over crevices.

Finally they stopped, halfway up the mountain, near a little lake.

“I found this a few days back,” Kíli said as he jumped of his ram. “Come on, brother.”

Still confused, but trusting his brother as always, Fíli also slid of the ram, patting its broad neck before he walked over to his brother.

“Are you going to tell me what this is about?”

Kíli grabbed his hand. “You will see in a minute. Come on.”

He led Fíli to the lake, gazing up quickly before instructing Fíli: “Bend over the water and tell me what you see.”

Fíli did as he was told and gasped. He saw his own face reflected clearly - and behind his head, the crown of Durin.

“Remember the story Balin told us? Durin awoke in Mount Gundabad in the far north Misty Mountains, but then travelled south until he came upon a lake we now call the Mirrowmere. When gazed down in it, he saw a crown of stars above his head. We named this constellation Durin’s crown.” 

Fíli nodded, of course he remembered. Every child knew.

Kíli pressed on. “And thus Durin acquired his crown and he took that as a sign to found the kingdom of Khazad-dûm nearby. This is the original crown of Durin, brother.” Kíli looked down into the lake as well, his reflection smiling at Fíli. “And it suits you.”

Fíli stood up straight, breaking the image. “Is that why you brought me here?”

“Yes, of course.” Kíli cocked his head. “Before you get the physical crown, forged in Erebor, I wanted you to see yourself as our ancestor saw himself. King of the Longbeards, crowned by the stars themselves.” 

“I am not Durin.”

“The last incarnation of Durin brought us Durin’s bane and exiled us from Khazad-dûm. Gundabad and Khazad-dûm are both in the hands of orcs, so it’s not like our ancestor, blessed as his memory may be, is perfect. You are succeeding Thrain I, who led the Longbeards to Erebor and gave them a new home. We helped Thorin give the Longbeards Erebor back. You will make it the Longbeard’s home again, as Thrain I did, just as Durin made Khazad-dûm our people’s first home.” Kíli gently pushed Fíli, walking him backwards a few paces away from the water’s edge. Then he took a step back, almost into the water. “From my perspective, you are crowned by the stars, they fit your head perfectly. This is how I always saw you, Fíli. This is who you are meant to be.”

Fíli reached out to grab Kíli by the shoulders and pulled him into a hug, pressing their foreheads together. “I am meant to be with you.” He turned them around, taking a step back as well. Kíli was a bit taller, but the stars were still visible around his head. “You are a king of dwarves as well. You’ll always be at my side as my equal.”

They stayed like this a little longer. Then the sinking evening star reminded Fíli of the time.

“We need to get back before they sound the alarm.”

“Yes. The new king is an important part of the coronation.”

The way back was quick, the rams probably tired and eager to get back to their comfortable boxes and lay down on the traw.

Back in the stables, after they had unsaddled the rams, Fíli took his brother’s hand. “Thank you for showing me.”

Kíli took both of Fíli’s hands and squeezed them. “Always.”

When Balin placed the crown on his head the next day and Fíli turned towards the assembled dwarves, his head held high, he saw himself reflected in that lake, the crown of Durin on his head. And the task of leading one of the most stubborn people on Middle Earth and making Erebor prosper again despite all odds did not seem daunting at all. With Kíli by his side and Durin at his back, he could achieve everything.


End file.
